Pushkar Fair, the big Mela at Pushkar in Rajasthan, takes place in the Hindu month of Kartika (October/November) beginning on ‘Ashtami,’ the 8th day of Shukla paksha or waning phase of moon as per lunar calendar and continues till full moon (‘Purnima’). Pushkar Fair 2018 is from November 16 to November 23. The holy bath in PushkarLake is on Friday, November 23. The first half of the fair is dedicated to camel, cattle and horse trading. The second-half of the fair is famous for the holy dip or bath in the PushkarLake on the Kartik Purnima day.

PushkarLake is one of the sacred lakes in India associated with Hindu religion and it is believed to have been created by the falling of a lotus from the hand of Lord Brahma.

It is widely believed that taking a holy dip on the auspicious Kartik Purnima will help in attaining Moksha (salvation) and wash away sins committed.

The Pushkar sarovar is noted for the fifty two bathing ghats and each is supposed to be sacred in its own right. Hindu devotees believe that a dip or having a holy bath in the waters of the PushkarLake on Kartika Purnima is equivalent to performing austerities and yagnas for several hundred years.

The water of PushkarLake is also believed to have healing powers.

Today, Pushkar is noted for the highly commercialized world famous Pushkar Camel Fair which is held during the same period of Kartik Snan. But despite the crass commercialization of the Pushkar fair, thousands of devotees attend the annual Kartik Purnima snan seeking Moksha.